The
artistic legacy of Moses Eaton, Jr. and his father reaches far
and wide across New England. You may be acquainted with their
wonderful folk art style of wall stenciling. The weeping willow
(colonial symbol of long life) and the pineapple (colonial symbol
of hospitality) are a couple of their well known motifs. However,
these familiar motifs are but two of the many designs that we
know to have been painted by the Eatons. The beauty of nature
was surely their inspiration. Walls attributed to Moses Eaton
Jr. are stenciled with colorful sprays of flowers, pine boughs,
flowing vines, oak leaf clusters, flower baskets and more. He
added hearts to certain designs to honor the love of a new bride
and groom. His designs and motifs were big, bold and bright.
They were lively and daring. His red and green motifs made a
unique statement on walls of buff or those washed with raspberry,
yellow or soft gray. This simple farmer with a flair for design
and color left a lasting impression not only on the lives of
the families whose homes he stenciled, but also on the history
of decorative arts in New England.

Frequently
in articles and publications about early American stenciling,
any example of historic stenciling is referred to as “Moses
Eaton” stenciling. Actually, the folk art designs and
motifs created and used by Moses Eaton, Jr. and his father can
be easily distinguished from the designs used by many other 19th
century “folk” style stencilers. In addition, the
Eaton’s preference for folk art design stands in stark
contrast to the walls attributed to “border style” stencilers.

Moses
Eaton, Sr., and Jr. were both well versed in the art and craft
of wall stenciling. Moses Eaton, Sr. was born in Needham Massachusetts
in 1753, and served in the Revolutionary War. It is believed
that he practiced his craft of wall stenciling in Massachusetts
before moving to the small New Hampshire town of Hancock. There
he settled down on his farm and in 1796 celebrated the birth
of his son, Moses Eaton, Jr. As a youngster growing up on his
father’s farm in Hancock, Eaton, Jr. not only learned the
ways of a successful farmer but also the art and craft of wall
stenciling.

When
Eaton was a teenager, he began to travel the country side with
the stencil kit that is believed to have also belonged to his
father. Eaton Jr.’s travels Down East took him to many
small, rural towns in Maine including the towns of North Saco,
Sebec, Sidney, Kennebunk, Falmouth, Waldoboro, East Vasselboro,
Blue Hill, and Buckfield. In Moses Eaton Jr.’s home state
of New Hampshire, we find walls attributed to him in Deerfield,
Epping, Hillsboro, Temple, Hancock, and Bradford. He also beautified
the walls of homes located in the central and eastern Massachusetts
towns of Acton, Bolton, and West Newbury.

In
his twenties, Eaton met up with Rufus Porter, the muralist and
inventor extraordinaire, as he was passing through Eaton’s
hometown of Hancock. The two became friends and they collaborated
on a couple of projects. They decorated the walls at two locations
in New Hampshire; the Hancock Inn in Hancock, and the Joshua Eaton
House in Bradford. Eaton stenciled his bold and colorful designs
and motifs, while Porter created folk art murals complete with
mountains, oceans, boats, colonial houses, trees, animals, and
sometimes soldiers.

When
Moses Eaton, Jr. was 39, he bought a farm in Harrisville, NH just
down the road from his childhood home in Hancock. He married Rebecca
Plant of Dublin, NH, and they had two daughters and a son. He stenciled
the soft raspberry walls in the front parlor of his home with beautiful
red and green patterns and motifs. In his later years he farmed
his land and on occasion continued his stenciling journeys around
New England. In 1886, at the age of 90, Eaton died at his home
in Harrisville. His descendents continued to live in this home
until the year 2002. In 2005, Polly Forcier of MB
Historic Décor restored the walls in the front parlor
to their former glory for the new owners of the “Moses Eaton
House.” The original stenciling still remained in one section
of the room, which allowed Polly to recreate the exact patterns
and motifs as Moses Eaton Jr. had stenciled 150 years ago. Bright
red and green motifs once again grace the soft raspberry walls…and
the legacy of Moses Eaton Jr. lives on in his ancestral home.

Recently,
I had the privilege of visiting the 19th century home of Moses
Eaton, Jr. in Harrisville, NH. Entering the famed front parlor,
the soft raspberry walls fairly glowed. Freshly restored, the bright
red and green patterns and motifs remind all who enter of the artful
legacy of Moses Eaton, Jr. Behind the door that leads out of the
parlor, I saw the one remaining “panel” of original
stenciling. It proudly wears the passing of time like a badge of
honor. Visiting the 19th century home of Moses Eaton, Jr. was the
high point of my many journeys in search of his legacy. It was
such a pleasure crossing the threshold into the house where Eaton
lived, worked, raised a family, and stenciled his wonderful folk
art. Being in the presence of so much history was an honor I will
not soon forget!

You
might be wondering how we are able to identify the walls stenciled
by Moses Eaton, Jr. No written records have ever been uncovered
linking various stenciled walls to him. However, the “discovery” of
his stencil kit in the 1930’s has helped us to identify the
walls that he most likely stenciled. During the years when Janet
Waring was researching her book Early American Stencils on Walls
and Furniture, she became friends with the descendents of Mary
Richardson, Eaton Jr.’s daughter. On one of her annual trips
to visit the Richardson family, she was presented with the stencil
kit as found in the attic of the Harrisville home. The old wooden
box that was Eaton’s stencil kit, contained 78 stencils (40
complete designs), 8 large worn brushes, and a few blocks of wood
with carved designs that were used as fabric stamps.

On
Waring’s passing, her sister gave the stencil kit to SPNEA,
now known as Historic New England. The discovery of this kit
was instrumental in shedding a bright light on the artist who
stenciled so many walls in New England. Various researchers over
the years, including Waring, have been able to exactly match
designs found on walls to the designs in the kit. Only through
their efforts and dedication, are we able to truly appreciate
the creativity and talent of Moses Eaton, Jr. today.

On one of my trips to Maine, I saw the historic stencil kit once
owned by Moses Eaton Jr. and his father. The kit was part of the
SPNEA traveling exhibit “Cherished Possessions”, which
made a stop at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. When I gazed at
the old wooden box, containing such simple and crude tools, it was
amazing to think of the sheer beauty and joy that sprang from it
so long ago. Imagine how talented this farmer was. Imagine the beautiful
results Moses Eaton, Jr. achieved using his humble tools of stencil,
brush, and pigment. Imagine creating the beautiful all-over wall
designs without the benefit of one registration mark! Seeing his
stencil kit gave me a special admiration for the talent and skill
of the man who owned it almost two hundred years ago.
Putting
the finishing touches on my research into the life and times
of Moses Eaton, Jr., I recently sat down with Megan MacNeil,
registrar at Historic New England, and held in my hands the aged
stencils used by Moses Eaton, Jr. and his father. We went through
each stencil one by one. I marveled at the brushstrokes of red
and green still apparent on the stencils, along with stray bristles
from the large round brushes still clinging tenaciously to the
paint. Some of the stencils appeared to be barely used and Megan
and I laughed about some of the stencils being “new!” We
came across at least two stencils, cut with smooth edges and
seasoned with their coats of shellac, but with no visible signs
that they were ever put to use! Other stencils were thick with
paint, resulting in small flecks of paint dislodging and falling
to the table, even with the most gentle of handling. The stencil
of quaint little flower heads, part of the primitive flower basket
motif that Eaton, Jr. stenciled in his own home, had so many
layers of red paint, that the once smooth and beveled edges of
the openings were no where to be seen! Some of the stencils had
interesting little idiosyncrasies. For example, beautiful, old-fashioned
handwriting was visible on a couple of the stencils. Was this
perhaps the penmanship of Eaton himself!? It was also fascinating
to see that the paper used to cut two of the stencils in the
kit had a previous purpose. The “bell and swag” stencil
was cut right over a previously painted motif…the pineapple.
Perhaps Eaton stenciled the pineapple on the paper as a “test” of
some sort, or to show a potential client this charming pineapple
design. Whatever the purpose, the paper was later recycled into
a working stencil! An interesting little circular motif with
a multitude of tiny little petals was cut from paper that had
been previously stenciled with the little urn motif… the
same motif that is found stenciled on the lid of the kit. This
practice of “re-purposing” paper was surely an example
of the frugality and thriftiness of the Eatons.

Moses Eaton Jr., a simple farmer with a penchant for decorating,
left a lasting impression on the history of decorative arts in
New England. The lives of rural New Englanders were enhanced by
his simple and quaint decoration, and the dark interiors and plain
plastered walls of their homes were made bright with the colorful
bounty of spring. The folk art legacy of Moses Eaton, Jr. will
always occupy a special place in my heart, and his enchanting designs
and motifs will forever remind me of the fascinating history and
traditions of 19th century New England.